Storm’s Wildeye

Wildeye Curl Tail Minnows and Wildeye Swim Bait Shads are the latest addition to Storm’s soft plastic range.

Available in a large range of sizes the lures are manufactured from durable plastic and fitted with VMC hooks.

The two inch Wildeye Curl Tail Minnows (shown on the left) are also available in three inch and four inch sizes in eight colours. The colours shown are Rainbow Trout, Shiner Chartreuse Silver and Bluegill.

The two inch Wildeye Swim Bait Shads (shown right) are also available in three, four, five and six inch sizes in 16 colours. The colours shown are Mullet, Pearl and Fire Tiger. A nine inch lure will be available soon.

All lures are supplied in self-sealing packets.

Enquiries: Sports stores.

Okuma Epix Baitfeeder

Okuma has added another Baitfeeder to the Epix range; the EB-20.

The EB-20 has nine stainless steel sealed ball bearings plus an infinite anti-reverse bearing, a machine cut brass pinion gear and large oiled felt washers with 30 per cent more drag surface.

Other features include a gold titanium-lipped anodised aluminium spool, with two stainless steel sealed bearings, a new shape for the soft grip handle and Okuma’s Rotor Equalising System.

The spool holds 155yds of 4lb monofilament or 110yds of 6lb. A spare anodised aluminium spool comes with the reel. The ‘baitfeeder’ facility allows it to be set in free spool so fish can sample the bait without feeling any resistance. EB-20 comes with Okuma’s five-year warranty against faulty parts, material and contruction.

Enquiries: Sports stores.

Digital Fishfinder

Marine electronics manufacturer Raymarine has released the first high-definition digital fishfinder.

The product of years of research and development, the new fishfinder captures images even in rough seas. Constantly adapting with a very high ping rate, users can see clear displays of individual fish, enhanced bottom definition and a reduction of surface clutter on the screen.

The key to the new system is the DSM250, a digital sounder module that can be integrated with Raymarine’s Pathfinder radars and Raycharts. It means that boat owners can now create an all-in-one system with echo sounder, radar and charting all on one display.

With RayTech Pathfinder navigation software even a PC can be transformed into a digital adaptive echo sounder. And with hsb2 networking, the DSM250 provides High Definition Fish Imaging Technology to up to 10 remote Pathfinder Plus Radar or Raychart displays.

Two new digital adaptive echo sounders have also just been launched: a seven inch (L770D) and a 14.4 inch (L1260D) model both with dual frequency and daylight viewable colour screens.

Enquiries: Oceantalk Australia

Tel: (02) 9981 9500.
Fax: (02) 9981 9555.
E-mail: sales@oceantalk.com.au
Website: www.oceantalk.com.au

BLA's SmartCast

Humminbird has released the SmartCast Wireless Fishfinder. The SmartCast is operated via the Remote Sonar Sensor. To use, attach it to a standard rod and reel, cast it into the water and the sonar transducer will collect the data and transfer it to the fishfinder.

Featuring a 33m (100ft) radius remote operating range, 33m (100ft) depth capability and an ultra-wide 90 degree sonar coverage. The water and lightweight display unit has a large easy-to-read screen with a one-touch menu navigation that controls FishID, depth range, fish alarm and sensitivity, and back lighting for night fishing.

The display unit runs on AA batteries and the Remote Sonar Sensor typically lasts for 400 hours of in-the-water usage. Replacement sensors are available from Humminbird stockists. Humminbird's Wet Switch technology can maximise the battery life by automatically shutting down when the Remote Sonar Sensor is out of the water.

A separate 'B' Remote Sonar Sensor can be purchased to allow two people to fish with the individual SmartCast in the same area, but using different channels.

Enquiries: Bob Littler Agenices.
Tel: (07) 3890 1115.
Website: www.bla.com.au

The Lowrance 2003 Sportfishing and Offshore mid-range models offer something for the dam buster to the offshore specialists. The X87 and X97 work up to a range of 100 and 150 metres on 320 x 320 pixel displays and have 10 levels of grey scale.

The X87 puts out 1500 watts of power peak-to-peak and the X97 puts out 3000 watts. Both models use a high-speed 200kHz Skimmer transducer with a temperature probe built-in.

Features include HyperScroll for high-speed fish detection, advanced receiver design, zoom bottom tracking, FishReveal mode, built-in backup memory for key features and flasher mode with greyline.

For the offshore specialists Lowrance offer the DF (dual frequency) models. The X88DF has similar specifications to the X87, but comes with a dual frequency Skimmer transducer putting out 1500 watts at 200kHz (375 watts RMS) and 4000 watts at 50kHz peak to peak (500 watts RMS). This model will handle depths to 350 metres.

The X98DF is similar with the exception that it outputs 3000 watts at 200kHz. Flange mount and bolt-thru transducers are available for both models.

Lowrance offers a full two-year warranty with an optional extension for a further two years.

Enquiries: Lowrance.
Contact: Todd Moore.
Tel: (02) 9905 9700.
Website: www.lowrance.com.au

Corrosion Beater

Developed in the US by industrial chemist John Helms, and released in 1986, Salt-X is a corrosion beater with much application in the marine world. It works by chemically neutralising the corrosive effects of salt and then, after air drying, leaving behind a barrier to help prevent further corrosion.

Now available in Australia, this innovative product comes as a concentrate, one litre of which dissolves in fresh water to become 70 litres of solution. Salt-X is water-soluble, doesn’t leave an oily residue and is claimed by its manufacturers to be environmentally safe.

Salt-X can be applied with a bucket and sponge, sprayed on, by soaking the item in a container of solution, or with an Auto Mix unit attached to a garden hose. Some suggested uses include fishing tackle, knives, scuba regulators, underwater camera housings, trailers, boat fittings, winches, sails, cables, rollers, and four x four vehicles. If used while flushing marine engines and outboard motors it is designed to remove salt build up from cooling systems.

The US Marine Corps buys huge quantities of the stuff to service and protect equipment used in the marine environment and in the US it’s a popular treatment for salt corrosion in horticulture, mining, and around seaside homes.

Club Marine fishing correspondent Warren Steptoe tried Salt-X in a variety of applications in his fishing and outboard motor world. These include painting concentrate on threadline reel bail rollers and game fishing roller runners jammed up with salt crystals to free them; and to remove unsightly salt crystals embedded into the exterior of outboard brands.

Enquiries: Salt-X Australia
Tel: (07) 3823 4053.
E-mail: info@salt-x.com.au

Shimano design engineers have made a number of significant improvements to their Baitrunner series. The three Baitrunners in the series – the 3500B, the 4500B and the 6500B – now feature dyna-balance rotor design for wobble free operation, Super Stopper 11 anti-reverse bearings, which eliminate any back play in the Septon handle, the bail rollers have also been beefed up with the inclusion of an oversized power roller to reduce friction and line twist, and the bail arm now comes with a long life bail spring.

The 3500B takes 300 metres of four kilo line, making it a versatile estuary/light offshore reel; the 4500B comfortably accommodates 295 metres of seven kilo line and the 6500B takes 270 metres of 10 kilo line, which puts it into the medium rock/surf, heavy duty snapper/reef fishing class. Basically, there’s a Baitrunner model for just about every bait fishing situation.

Enquiries: Leading tackle stores.
Website: www.shimanofish.com.au